Where do you travel to relax, find joy, peace or excitement?
Our Journal brings you design inspiration and information, inspired by the coast, to create a home where you can achieve wellness.
This week we are showcasing outdoor spaces to lounge, enjoy a view, read, chat, snack or play games from places like Oregon, Cambodia, Australia, Thailand, Bali and Hawaii.
Design your home using inspiration from your favourite destinations. Your home will trigger all of those emotions that you get every time you visit your favourite spot. Imagine if you could feel like you're on vacation every day... joy, rest, peace, and excitement.
The design of my home has been influenced by Cape Cod - our family escape every summer. Not only does it trigger feelings I get around the ocean but it triggers all the positive emotions that I felt growing up.
Above I've shown the Oregon coast. Moody blues and greys as well as whites. I've never been here, but have always wanted to. Just looking at their coast steadies my breath.
What location would influence your design?
There's something about sun umbrellas that always make me feel like I'm down south drinking a margarita.
This inspiration is from Cambodia. What's interesting about showcasing design from other parts of the world is that you see products that you wouldn't normally see here - like this triangle wedge back cushion for support - I think they are my new favourite thing. Which apparently you can get through Amazon.
Cambodia
Typically, I gravitate towards white. It's peaceful, it reminds me of waves and sand, and you can add bursts of colour.
The colours bursts here are in items that can switched out depending on how you feeI or how you want to feel.
I was drawn to this Australian home because it told me a story about the owners personality and what brings them joy.
If I had any words of wisdom for you... figure out what brings you joy, use that to inspire design, so that design can create wellness.
Since 450 BC people have theorized that there are four elements that provide the foundation for the physical world - Air, Fire, Water, and Earth— and these elements need to be balanced with one another in order for a person to sustain mental and physical health. This space balances these elements nicely.
Whether or not you believe this, Thailand does a fabulous job incorporating nature into their design. Here, planters bookend both couches so you're surrounded by the energy of the earth. The planters also serve to ground the couches and help to define the outdoor space.
This is how you add the tropics to your northern backyard space!
These seagrass mats are popular in Bali but you don't see them often here. I like their portability and how they add the tropics to any backyard space.
For me, spaces for wellness aren't just about luxury. This space in Oregon is practical, functional, simple and authentic - the fundamental elements of coastal design. When spaces are created like the one here, the attention is brought to a focal point... can you guess what the focal point is here?
I'm inspired by Hawaii. It ranks as number one on my bucket list.
Pergolas add not only a design element to your outdoor space, they define the space and provide shade. If you want extra shade, drape or weave outdoor fabric over the top.
This backyard was found in Grotto Bay in South Africa. The lounge chairs look cozy. Perfect for a day by the pool snoozing or reading.
My design centres around function and wellness - which I see as dependent on one another. It won't be relaxing or peaceful if you can't keep it clean... so I'd want a removable cover. I would also make sure they were easy to bring inside or to a covered porch. What can I say... I live in Ontario with an 80 pound dog.
Harris Beach State Park, Oregon
LIVING LIFE
inspired by the coast